From the Beginning
by Persion
Summary: Zack has noticed some odd things happening in SOLDIER after a mysterious expirament involving a strange woman and Sephiroth's unknown intentions. Cloud is having his own problems with dreams he can't explain. preFF7 and Advent children. Please review!
1. Rude awakening

This is my first fanfic based slightly before FF7. 3 I wrote it in like, 10 minutes. o.o; I could use some nice reviews on it to let me know whether I should continue it or not. 3 Thanks! Ohs, and I don't own any Final Fantasy characters.

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It was a slightly overcast and windy afternoon when Cloud decided he needed to visit Zacks memorial. He hadn't done so in a while. It was a sudden thought he had and just up and left like he always did, not even bothering to leave a note for Tifa. He knew she would worry, but this was something he needed to do alone. She wouldn't understand. Besides, it was _his _fault Zack was dead. The least he could do was visit the spot where he had died.

Cloud stood right at the edge of the cliff, memories coming back to him that he tried to forget constantly. This time, they were overpowering. All the good times flashed through his mind first, then the final moments. He was surprised he wasn't crying. he particularly remembered the 5 months after he had joined SOLDIER...

_A maze. He was wandering aimlessly through somekind of really dark maze with tall steel walls, not knowing what he was looking for. Was it a way out? No. He was walking to slow for that. Was he looking for somebody? Maybe. He felt himself being subconsciously steered around corners, down other paths, until he came to a clearing. The light was so bright he was forced to shield his bright blue eyes. However he never stopped walking into that white void, hearing a gentle female voice calling for him. _

_"I knew you would come..." She whispered to him. He blinked a few times, trying to determine where the source of the voice was. It wasn't familiar to him, yet he was still compelled to find her. _

_"Cloud..." She said, forcing him to look around more, but there was nothing to see._

"Cloud..." The voice came again, slightly louder and more...masculine? "...Cloud!"

The male voice came at him like a harsh whisper, and Cloud mumbled something, opening his eyes in confusion. "Zack?...What?" He whispered back, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with gloved hands. When his eyes had adjusted to the dim moonlight bathing the room, he looked at Zack, who was standing beside his bunk and gesturing at the door.

"We have to leave. Now. This might be our only chance to get her out of here too..." He said hauling Cloud out of bed and dragging him across the room. "I have a ride whos suppose to meet us at the front."

He was explaining things way too fast for Cloud to apprehend. After all, it was quarter after 4 in the morning. "Wait..." He said, reaching for his sword and quickly strapping it to his back. After 5 months in SOLDIER, Cloud should have been used to getting a rude awakening at times like this for 'spur of the moment' desicions Rufus Shinra made. Usually though, Zack was more calm and level headed about things. Now he was nervous and edgy, expecting something to happen. Cloud didn't know why they were leaving or who they were taking with them. He was so confused.

They rounded a corner and burst throught the labratory doors, past JENOVA and to the test capsules. The very ones Zack and Cloud had been expiramented in. That place brought back bad memories of being iniciated into SOLDIER for the both of them. They stopped in front of another capsule and Zack paused a moment and turned to Cloud. "We need to get her out of here. Something just doesn't add up. I think I know whats going on, and it isn't good." All Cloud could do was blink and for the first time, he looked behind Zack to see what he was talking about. There was a woman in the capsule, who appeared to be in a coma after the first round of Mako treatment and Jenova cells. Although she resembled a human, there was definately something...different about her too.

He shook his head and glanced back at Zack. "We won't have time to get her out of here. Hoja..."

Zack interuppted. "Notice how no alarms went off when we walked in? Its all been taken care of for at least 2 hours. Thats all the time I could get us."

Cloud nodded. "Fine."

"Good. Help me lift the latches..." Zack said, going to the left side of the capsule and lifting the heavy metal latch that kept the thing air-tight. Cloud went to the other side and did the same. When the glass part fell open, there was a hiss of rushing air and and the woman fell out of the capsule face first. Zack caught her just in time and made a run for the door, Cloud followed close behind.

They both raced down the hallways and turned corners to get to the front doors of the base. It was almost scary how nobody had been alerted to what they were doing. What exactly did Zack do to the security?

The main doors were just in front of them now, and neither slowed to push them open gently. Zack slammed into the glass, shooting the door open, oddly enough causing a loud siren to go off. And just as Zack said, there was a yellow truck waiting for them right across the road. Cloud hopped in to the back of the pick up and Zack quickly passed the girl to him, then hopped in himself, hitting the cab to give the driver the signal to floor it.

As the truck took off, Cloud noticed how the other SOLDIERS had suddenly appeared after them, weaponless and awestruck.

They were in for it now...


	2. Malicous Intent Discovered

I finally got the second chapter typed up. YAY! I was kinda taking my time with it. Just to make sure it was better done than the first one. Anyways, I hope to have the third one up a little sooner. 3 Reviews are appriciated and thanks for reading!

Once again, I don't own any FF characters.

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"...I thought you said you got us 2 hours!" Cloud practically yelled over the sound of the truck racing through the desert.

"I did!" Zack yelled back, shifting around on the uncomforatble surface in the back of the pick up and trying to keep the unconscious girl from being thrown around. "I don't see anybody on our trail yet!"

Cloud shrugged and glanced at the uneven road behind. It wouldn't be long, he thought. They had already seen them take off. He knew he'd probably be in more trouble than Zack would, he didn't exactly get into SOLDIER himself; Zack got him in. It would only take one mention of his name to Septhiroth that would cause certain destruction.

"Where are we going?" He asked, out of pure curiosity.

"Midguard." Was Zacks reply. He moved toward Cloud and passed the girl to him gently, doing his best not to hit her head on the side. "There. Your turn." he stated and moved back to where he was.

Cloud sighed inaudiably and sat her next to him the same way Zack had and succeeded in holding her more still. However, as it got closer to dawn; he found that his arms were getting sore. He glanced over at Zack, who was staring at the girl with a look on his face between worry, determination and curiosity. Cloud blinked a few times, wondering what he could possibly be thinking.

"...Why are we going to Midguard?" He asked suddenly, realizing he had no idea what was going on yet.

There were a few seconds of silence, Zack now appeared to be thinking of the best way to explain to Cloud. The sound of the trucks engine was the only thing breaking the current silence between them.

Before Zack had a chance to answer, the driver pulled over to the side of the road. He leaned over the side to ask what was going on. The sun wasn't fully up in the sky yet, they weren't that far from the base yet.

"I'm starting to fall asleep at the wheel. This is where I draw the line for now." The driver stated with a harsh tone of finality.

Zack opened his mouth to argue, then thought better of it. "Fine. But we can't be here long. Get what sleep you can then we have to keep moving. He glanced at Cloud, who looked at him with confusion.

"...I'll explain soon." He said, gesturing for him to pass the still unconscious girl over the side of the truck to him. Cloud passed her over without saying a word. He to was a little on the tired side too, but he needed to know what was happening and why they had to leave like that.

"Cloud, grab the blankets from the front seat." Zack ordered, and Cloud did so, instinctively knowing what they were for. He spread them out nicely on the hard ground and Zack layed the girl on them gently.

"...How can she still be unconscious?" Cloud asked. Zack shook his head and gestured at the driver who was making a temperary bed inside his truck. Zack didn't want him to hear. Cloud understood now.

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It was early morning by the time Zack figured he should explain himself. A quick glance at the truck to make sure all was well, then he sighed and looked between Cloud and the girl. "You want to know whats going on huh?"

He nodded.

"To make a long story short, she wasn't an experiment that Rufus had iniciated. This was something private Sephiroth started. I know this because Angeal had told me before hand that Sephiroth had 'bought' somebody for the scientists to work on. At first he just shrugged at this, not thinking much of it until he found out what they were doing to her in the Mako chambers. She was exposed longer than any of us were. Thus inducing her coma. I'm pretty sure Angeal was hinting that Sephiroth wants to know what made him the way he is. Problem is, nobody knows what happens to a human body after being exposed for so long and being injected with JENOVA cells. I don't even know what happened to Sephiroth. Rufus and Hoja are the only ones who know. Anyway, the reason why we had to get her out of there is because of what might happen to her if the treatments went wrong..."

As Zack trailed off, Cloud stared at him like he was crazy. He knew Sephiroth was not to be questioned about anything he did, seeing as he was general of the Shinra army, only taking orders from Rufus himself. But for him to intimidate the scientists to do these private tests for him was crazy. It just didn't make sense for him to be curious about what made him so powerful. But then again, power almost always leads to corruption of some sort. "...What would happen if they went wrong?" He asked.

"Mutation." He simply said. "The theory is that too much Mako can alter human genes. Whether she becomes animalistic or something else, we won't know until she wakes up. At the moment, there are no visible signs. Another reason might be that she could be used as a weapon. Sephiroth could have wanted to make her into something usefull if his original plans didn't work."

They both fell silent for a moment or 2, letting the information float about. When nothing further was said, Zack announced that he was going to try to get some sleep. It was getting closer to noon. They would have to move on right soon.

There would be no rest for Cloud though. Not with everything that was just said. Instead, he stayed where he was seated, glancing between the girl he knew next to nothing about and Zack. He didn't really want to sleep anyway, he knew he was gonna have those strange dreams again.

He was just starting to drift off when he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head and looked at her, shocked to see her sitting up.

"...Where am I ?"


	3. Escaped

Woo! I finally decided to update my FF Fanfic due to a friend who wanted the next chapter. :3

Enjoy

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That was probably the first time Cloud had taken a good look at her. He was momentarily stunned as he realized just how _unique _she looked.

Dark brown hair fell around her pale face as she stared at him with a rather confused expression. At that moment he was drawn to her eyes; perfectly rounded, light silver eyes. The sunlight seemed to dance around her with every movement she made, unless his eyes were playing tricks on him. She tilted her head curiously, dark copper locks falling over her shoulders allowing the sun to reflect the faint blonde spots she had in her hair. "Where am I?" She repeated the question, narrowing her perfect eyes at him.

He shook his head, finally remembering to blink and breathe. "H-half way to Midguar." Cloud stuttered, almost willing himself not to stare again.

"Midguar…?" She asked, trailing off and staring down the road they had come off of. Her voice was oddly soothing to him in that specific tone, he was about ready to pass out on the spot as it was.

"Yeah…" He mumbled, rubbing his eyes to help keep awake. It wasn't working.

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, "You should rest. You seem tired."

That did it. Could was fighting a losing battle with his eyes, giving in after just a few seconds. He was out like a light, the last thing he heard in reality was. 'sweet dreams.'

_A familiar scene. Once again he was wandering through that same maze, knowing where to go by instinct. That same female voice called out to him, guiding him through. "Cloud…" She'd say, and he'd suddenly know what corner to turn. Just like the other dreams the same bright light came up and he couldn't see who was standing in front of him. "I knew you'd come…" She said, in that dreamy echo, holding out a delicate hand to him. His eyes adjusted to the light and he looked at her for the first time, still unable to make out her features with that light in the back ground._

_Suddenly he felt he shouldn't do it. That something was wrong. His conscious came back to him and told him to run, get as far away as possible. But he couldn't. At the same time he felt such a longing to take her hand. He was being torn in half by to 2 separate but strong feelings. He reached out for her…_

His eyes shot open and he suddenly reached up and grabbed the neck of his assailant, after being shaken awake. "Woah! Calm down buddy…its me!" Zack said, holding his arms up in surrender.

Cloud had to blink a couple times to make sure he wasn't still dreaming before he let go. "Sorry…" He mumbled sitting up.

"Yeah, yeah, you're forgiven…for the most part." Zack said, suddenly slapping him upside the head. "Why the hell didn't you tell me she woke up?"

He jumped slightly, wide eyed with shock. "What are you talking ab… oh." It had just dawned on him that he forgot about the girl. That strange girl with the perfect silvery eyes and dark hair…

Zack wound up to hit him again when Cloud snapped out of his day dream and caught his arm. "I'm sorry. I was so tired and I didn't realize what I had even fallen asleep and I didn't know you wanted me to wake you up if she happened to move… where is she?" He asked suddenly, noticing that it was just him, Zack and their driver there.

"You just noticed that? You're a freakin' SOLDIER." Zack said, thoroughly mad at Cloud for letting her leave. "We have to find her before Sephiroth does…" He mumbled, tossing his blade in the back of the truck and hopping in.

Cloud followed after, "I don't understand. She was just and experiment…"

"Sephiroth doesn't start things like that without a reason. If he planned on making her a weapon, we're in trouble. We don't even know what she can do!" He said, exasperated. "Oh, and by the way, we likely have the whole Shinra army after us right about now, I'd like to get moving some time this week thanks."

Cloud winced, he knew Zack wasn't going to forgive him for this. Even though it wasn't really his fault she left. He got comfortable in the back of the pick up, nervously fidgeting under Zack's 'I-want-to-kill-you glare. He gruffly told the driver to take them to Midguar anyway, figuring that's where she had to go because it was the closest place from where they were.

He sighed and watched the scenery go by once Zack was finished glaring, his most recent dream coming back to him suddenly. He shook his head, not wanting to think about it at that moment.

Pushing those thoughts aside, he stole a glance at Zack again. He looked deeply troubled. Cloud still didn't really understand why he was so worried about it, unless there was something more going on. He highly doubted he knew the girl from anywhere. They likely had no connection to each other in any way. Another thing he couldn't figure out was why Zack had chosen him to go along in the first place. He knew Cloud wasn't exactly SOLDIER material to begin with, but did he really trust him that much?

His thoughts were interrupted when the driver pulled up to the entrance of Midguar, and to a line of lower class soldiers, armed and ready for them…

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I could use some reviews to know if the direction I'm going in sounds good. Thanks for reading and please review!


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